Chapter 54: Xie Zhi's name is crossed out when entering the palace, and Xie Yao is rewarded
The emperor was slightly startled, his interest piqued.
"Oh? There's such a thing?"
The Xie family is Ruhui's in-laws, and Wenchangbo is his Minister of Rites. As an emperor, he naturally likes to pry into the family affairs of his subjects... no, he naturally cares about them.
Xiao Yizi said in a playful tone: "This matter has spread all over the capital. The Xie family is really a good relative of mine."
"Xie Chengyu's wife, Han?" The emperor looked at Qingcai and said, "I remember that Han Aiqing had a younger sister who married into the Wenchang Earl's mansion."
"Your Majesty, you are right."
Qingcai quickly reported, "Xie Chengyu is the eldest son of Xie Mingshou, the head of the Ministry of War. Minister Han's sister is married to him. As for the concubine your Highness mentioned, she is Xie Zhi, the eldest concubine daughter of the Earl of Wenchang. I heard that she and Xie Chengyu have a harmonious sibling relationship."
The emperor secretly sorted out the relationships between these people.
After a while, he smiled and shook his head, feeling gloating in his heart.
"Ruhui, your in-laws are truly a mess. A cousin covets a cousin and even breaks into her bedroom? It seems that General Hu Ben's expulsion of Xie Chengyu from the Jingji Camp has helped me get rid of a pest in my country."
The emperor felt that he had finally chosen a good marriage for Ruhui.
"Fortunately, the person I arranged to marry you is Xie Yao, the legitimate daughter of the Xie family. Xie Zhi, the concubine's daughter, is really not worthy of being in the family." The emperor's tone was very proud.
He could hardly imagine that if it was Xie Chengyu and the eldest daughter of the Xie family who were caught cheating yesterday, with Ruhui's temper, he would have to execute the entire Xie family.
Qingcai also quickly agreed, echoing the emperor's words.
"Your Majesty, I met Xie Zhi once when I went to the Wenchang Marquis's residence to announce the decree. Although she is beautiful, she is timid and petty. She is definitely not worthy of our prince."
The emperor's smile deepened a little, and Qingcai laughed along with him.
Xiao Yizi's deep gaze fell on Aunt Zhidai with a cold expression.
He didn't say anything because he was afraid that if he opened his mouth he would laugh out loud.
Zhidai was still holding the list of women selected by the empress dowager to enter the palace. When she heard the conversation between the emperor and eunuch Qingcai, a thin layer of sweat had already seeped out of her forehead.
The emperor then opened the list.
Then he saw Xie Zhi's name.
"Bang!"
The emperor slammed the list on the desk, his face flushed red.
"Who chose Xie Zhi? Who? Did the Queen Mother want to make fun of me?" he asked angrily.
Qingcai was extremely shocked and thought that he had really flattered the wrong person.
He hurriedly knelt down with the other eunuchs: "Your Majesty, calm down. Your Majesty, calm down—"
Zhidai said tremblingly, "Qi, Your Majesty, the Wenchang Earl has a good way of educating his daughters. Although this girl from the Xie family is a concubine's daughter, she is a famous talent in the capital... That's why the Empress Dowager chose her..."
"You've raised a daughter well? You raised a girl who's having an affair with her cousin before she even got married?"
The emperor was so angry that his chest heaved violently. He picked up the imperial pen and fiercely crossed out Xie Zhi's name on the list.
Xiao Yizi said that the whole capital knew about the Xie family's troubles and regarded the Xie family as a joke. If he took Xie Zhi into the harem, wouldn't he also become a joke!
Besides, he just said that Xie Zhi was a concubine's daughter who was not presentable. So, the legitimate daughter was married to Xiao Yizi, and the concubine's daughter was sent to the palace. Didn't Wenchang Earl want to have it all?
When Xiao Yizi saw the emperor getting angry, he seemed to have expected it and his expression remained calm.
The emperor roared loudly: "This Xie family is a family of no talent and no virtue, and they are unethical and forgetful of etiquette. Yet they still want to force a concubine's daughter into my harem? I think Xie Ming'an, the Minister of Rites, has no respect for etiquette at all. What he did is simply ridiculous!"
He saw Xiao Yizi and added, "What I'm talking about doesn't include Xie Yao."
Xiao Yizhi: "Your Majesty is absolutely right."
“…”
The emperor's eyes darkened slightly as he issued an edict: "Han and Xie Chengyu are to divorce, and the Xie family is to pay a thousand taels of silver as an apology to the Han family. Xie Chengyu is a man of corrupt character and disregards human ethics. He is also to be banned from taking the imperial examinations, inheriting a family patronage, or serving as an official at court for life."
"For failing to raise his son properly, the Earl of Wenchang will have his title and salary revoked for this year. For failing to raise his son effectively, the Director of the Ministry of War will have his salary fined for one year and demoted half his rank. As for that Xie Zhi... never let me hear that name again!"
Xiao Yizhi: "Your Majesty is clear about rewards and punishments, which I admire. I thank Your Majesty on behalf of my fiancée Xie Yao."
Emperor: ...Where did he reward it?
However, since Ruhui said so, he couldn't refuse him.
After all, among all the members of the Xie family, only Xie Yao is pleasing to the ear. When Xie Yao becomes a princess in the future, she will have to go to the palace to meet him during festivals.
"Xie Yao, the daughter of the Marquis of Wenchang, is upright and unyielding, speaking out for justice and punishing treacherous officials for me. Ruhui will select a few gifts and personally deliver them to the Xie family as a token of my appreciation. What do you think?"
His last two words emphasized the rhetorical tone.
Xiao Yizi immediately responded: "I accept your order."
Emperor: If an ordinary minister heard the emperor ask this question, he would definitely kneel down and shout in fear and trepidation that he dared not. But Ruhui... forget it, he is used to it.
"As for the other women on this list—" the emperor pondered.
Xiao Yizi coughed, his face pale. "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. I am not feeling well, so I will take my leave first."
"You're the only one who's lazy," the emperor said, his mouth twitching. "Well, Qingcai, you escort Ruhui out of the palace. I see Ruhui is afraid of the cold. Then take my new black fox cloak and send it to the palace."
At this time, the eunuch announced: "Your Majesty, Minister Pei has entered the palace."
"Let him in."
At the door of the imperial study, two young eunuchs had been waiting for a long time.
After Qingcai pushed King Jingbei's wheelchair to the threshold, the two of them gathered their strength, lifted the wheelchair over the threshold, and then put it down.
In the palace, subordinates of King Jingbei, such as Baishen and Baizhu, were not allowed to enter, nor could they use the wooden boards used to pad wheelchairs, as that would be disrespectful to the emperor.
There are thousands of palace gates, and every time you pass a threshold, a different palace servant will lift Prince Jingbei's wheelchair.
The two young eunuchs watched Prince Jingbei leave from behind, with pity and sighs in their eyes.
Thinking back to the past, Prince Jingbei was so elegant. He did not have to bow when entering the court, and he would wear a sword and shoes when entering the palace. Now he is disabled and has to rely on servants like them to carry his wheelchair when going in and out.
Qingcai, who was pushing the prince's wheelchair, had sweat on his palms.
No wonder the prince was unwilling to enter the palace. Every time he carried his wheelchair across the threshold, the people in the palace showed respect on the surface, but in their hearts they might have treated the prince as a foreigner.
Xiao Yizi, however, sat upright in a wheelchair with an indifferent expression.
He suddenly said, "Let's go to the storeroom first. I want to choose a gift for Miss Xie."
Qingcai asked curiously, "I wonder what the prince gave Miss Xie?"
Xiao Yizi: "In your opinion, what should I give you?"
Qingcai: "I dare not speculate on the prince's thoughts, but the prince has already rewarded Miss Xie with rare items such as Sichuan brocade and coral trees. This time, it would be better to give her something smaller and more suitable for her."
Xiao Yizi glanced sideways and said, "You actually know all about the reward I gave her."
Qingcai quickly said, "I am in charge of the Imperial Eagle Division for the prince, and even if you don't want to know something, it will find its way into your ears. This Wenchang Earl married the merchant Xu, and his family is well-off, with no shortage of gold and silver. Otherwise, Your Majesty wouldn't have asked them to pay a thousand taels of silver to apologize to the Han family."
He calmly explained that the emperor had ordered the Imperial Eagle Division to keep an eye on the Wenchang Marquis's mansion.
Moreover, he is now the chief of the Imperial Eagle Division, but he claims to be in charge on behalf of the prince. Who wouldn't say something that would offend Eunuch Qing?
Xiao Yizi sneered, "I heard that this autumn the people of Xirong presented Your Majesty with several fine horses."
Qingcai immediately turned his wheelchair around. "This year, the Western Rong presented a total of eight Ferghana horses, all kept in the Imperial Horse Administration. One is called Black Cloud Stepping on Snow, and it's incredibly majestic. Another is called Jade Snow Cong, which is completely snow-white without a single spot of color. It has an exceptionally docile temperament and is a perfect match for Second Miss Xie."
Xiao Yizi thought to himself that that person was not suitable for a docile horse.
He narrowed his eyes and said, "In the past, the horses of the Xirong people were sent directly to the palace."
Qingcai suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
In the past, King Jingbei was good at riding and shooting, and he led troops to fight against the Western Rong. Naturally, His Majesty gave him those Western Rong war horses.
But Prince Jingbei is now... having difficulty riding a horse. If he is given a warhorse, it would seem like a humiliation.
Qingcai naturally didn't dare to say this out loud, and could only smile apologetically: "Yes, His Majesty said a long time ago that it would be sent to the Prince's Palace. Look at my poor memory, damn it, I actually forgot. I will take the Prince to the Imperial Stables to choose."
Xiao Yizi then closed his eyes: "No need to choose, I want them all."
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